Cool air circulation structure of refrigerator and method for controlling the same

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator having a cool air circulation system capable of drawing cool air from a freezer to an ice machine disposed in a refrigerating space. The ice machine is removably installed in the refrigerating space. A cool air inlet duct is configured to supply cool air from an evaporator of the freezer into the ice machine provided in the refrigerating space. A cool air outlet duct is configured to return the cool air, used in the ice machine, from the ice machine to the freezer. After the ice machine is removed from the refrigerating space, cool air supplied from the cool air inlet duct is used to maintain a temperature in the refrigerating space.

CROSSREFERENCE

This patent application claims priority to and benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0085840, filed on Jun. 17, 2015, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to refrigerators, and more particularly, to control mechanisms for cool air circulation in refrigerators.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Refrigerators are electrical appliances capable of maintaining a storage chamber below the room temperature. Food can be stored in a refrigerator in a cold or frozen state.

The internal space of a refrigerator is maintained at a low temperature by circulating cool air therein. Cool air is generated through heat transfer of refrigerant through a cooling cycle including compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation. Cool air supplied into the refrigerator is distributed or circulated in the internal space of the refrigerator to achieve a desired temperature.

Typically, a main body of the refrigerator has a rectangular parallel-piped structure with doors installed on a front side thereof. A refrigerating space and a freezer are enclosed in the main body, each room having its own door. A plurality of drawers, trays, and/or storage boxes may be installed in the refrigerator, e.g., for sorting the food or other items stored therein.

A top mount refrigerator has a freezer disposed above a refrigerating space. A bottom-freezer refrigerator has a freezing space (or a freezer) disposed below a refrigerating space. Bottom-freezer refrigerators have become increasingly popular. Usually users use the refrigerating space much more often than a freezer of a refrigerator. A bottom-freezer refrigerator provides more convenience to the user because its refrigerating space is disposed in the upper portion of the refrigerator and the user can easily access the refrigerating space without bending or otherwise lowering the body. However, the downside of such a refrigerator is that a user has to bend over the body when trying to get ice out of the freezer as the freezer is disposed at the lower portion of the refrigerator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a refrigerator with an ice dispenser disposed on a door of a refrigerating space. Thus, an ice machine for producing ice may be provided in the refrigerating space door or the refrigerating space.

In a bottom-freezer refrigerator, cool air may need to be supplied from a freezer disposed below the refrigerating space to the ice machine installed in the refrigerating space. Therefore, there is a need for circulating cool air more efficiently to enhance power efficiency and ice-making performance of the refrigerator.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a refrigerator and a circulation control mechanism offering more efficient circulation of cool air in the refrigerator. Thereby the power efficiency and ice-making performance of the refrigerator can be enhanced.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity, simplifications, generalizations and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages of the present invention, as defined solely by the claims, will become apparent in the non-limiting detailed description set forth below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will be better understood from a reading of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in which like reference characters designate like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a bottom-freezer refrigerator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an internal structure of the bottom-freezer refrigerator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plane view illustrating the configuration of the internal structure of the bottom-freezer refrigerator in accordance an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a view showing the flow of cool air in the refrigerator after an ice machine is removed from a freezer in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of embodiments of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments of the present invention. The drawings showing embodiments of the invention are semi-diagrammatic and not to scale and, particularly, some of the dimensions are for the clarity of presentation and are shown exaggerated in the drawing Figures. Similarly, although the views in the drawings for the ease of description generally show similar orientations, this depiction in the Figures is arbitrary for the most part. Generally, the invention can be operated in any orientation.

Notation and Nomenclature:

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present invention, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “accessing” or “executing” or “storing” or “rendering” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories and other computer readable media into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. When a component appears in several embodiments, the use of the same reference numeral signifies that the component is the same component as illustrated in the original embodiment.

Cool Air Circulation Structure of Refrigerator and Method for Controlling the Same

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary bottom-freezer style refrigerator in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the refrigerator in accordance with the present embodiment includes a main body 10. Inside the main body 10 are a refrigerating space 111 and a freezer 112. The refrigerating space 111 is maintained at a low temperature that is higher than the freezing temperature of water. The freezer 112 is disposed below the refrigerating space 111 and can store food or the like in a frozen state.

A door 20 is rotatably installed on an upper portion of the main body 10. Although the upper portion of the refrigerator illustrated in FIG. 1 has two doors, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a single door or three or more doors may be used in some other embodiments.

A handle 22 is coupled to each door 20. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the handle 22 may have a variety of shapes or structures in different embodiments.

A dispenser 30 may be installed in either upper doors 20 for supplying water or ice to a user. For instance, the dispenser 30 is coupled to an ice machine and/or a water tank that are installed inside the refrigerating space. Another door 20 a is coupled to the freezer 112 located at a lower portion of the main body 10.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of an exemplary bottom-freezer type refrigerator in accordance with the present exemplary embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plane view illustrating the bottom-freezer type refrigerator of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, an ice machine 50 is installed in an upper portion (e.g., ceiling) of the refrigerating space 111. However, the present disclosure is not limited by the position of the ice machine 50 within the refrigerator. Depending on the embodiment, an ice machine may be installed at a variety of locations on the refrigerator, e.g., on a side wall or lower portion (e.g., bottom wall) of the refrigerating space 111. As will be described in detail later herein, the ice machine 50 is removably installed in the refrigerating space 111.

In addition, an evaporator 119, a cool air suction fan 117, and a cool air discharge fan 118 is installed in the refrigerating space 111. The evaporator 119 supplies cool air for maintaining the refrigerating space 111 at a desired temperature. The cool air suction fan 117 distributes cool air from the evaporator 119 to the entire refrigerating space 111. The cool air discharge fan 118 drives the cool air that has been circulated in the refrigerating space 111 back to the evaporator 119. A cool air inlet duct and a cool air outlet duct, which are used for circulating cool air, may also be installed in the refrigerating space 111.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the cool air inlet duct 120 and the cool air outlet duct 130 are installed on a sidewall of the main body 10. The cool air inlet duct 120 functions to supply cool air from the freezer 112 disposed in the lower portion of the main body 10 to the ice machine 50. Cool air that has been used to produce ice in the ice machine 50 is returned to the freezer 112 through the cool air outlet duct 130. In the above-mentioned construction, air is cooled while passing through an evaporator 180 of the freezer 112 and then drawn into the cool air inlet duct 120 through a freezer-side end 120 b of the cool air inlet duct 120. Air is then supplied from the cool air inlet duct 120 into the ice machine 50 through a cool air inlet port 123 of the ice machine 50. The ice machine 50 uses the cool air supplied form the cool air inlet duct 120 to freeze water and make ice. Cool air circulates in the ice machine 50 and then is drawn into the cool air outlet duct 130 through a cool air outlet port 133 of the ice machine 50 before returning to the evaporator 180 of the freezer 112 via the freezer-side end 130 b of the cool air outlet duct 130.

As such, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the ice machine 50 can produce ice using cool air supplied from the freezer 112, rather than relying on a dedicated cooling cycle that involves drawing cool air to the ice machine 50 directly from a cooling unit including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, etc.

In the present exemplary embodiment, a cool air suction fan 121 is disposed on one end 120 a of the cool air inlet duct 120 to reliably drive cool air from the freezer 112 into the ice machine 50. Thus, cool air suction fan 121 is disposed between the cool air inlet duct 120 and the cool air inlet port 123 of the ice machine 50. Furthermore, a cool air discharge fan 131 is disposed on the end 130 a of the cool air outlet duct 130 between the cool air outlet duct 130 and the cool air outlet port 133 of the ice machine 50. The cool air discharge fan 131 is used to push cool air that has been used to produce ice in the ice machine 50 back to the freezer 112.

In the bottom-freezer type refrigerator in accordance with the present exemplary embodiment, the cool air inlet duct 120 and the cool air outlet duct 130 are separate. The fans 121 and 131 are respectively installed on the ends 120 a and 130 a of the cool air inlet duct 120 and the cool air outlet duct 130. Thereby, ice can be made without the need of a separate cooling cycle dedicated to the ice machine 50. Here, a relatively small fan may be used as each of the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131. Thereby, power efficiency of the bottom-freezer style refrigerator can be enhanced.

In accordance with the present exemplary embodiment, a control system of the refrigerator can adjust the speeds of (e.g., in the unit of revolution per minute (RPM)) the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131. For instance, the ice machine 50 may be provided with a temperature sensor. Thus, when the temperature in the ice machine 50 is higher than a threshold, the speed of the cool air suction fan 121 is increased to increase the cool air flow rate from the freezer 112 to the ice machine 50. When the temperature in the ice machine 50 is lower than the threshold, the speed of the cool air suction fan 121 is reduced to decrease the flow rate of supplying cool air to the ice machine 50. The speeds of the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131 of the ice machine 50 may be controlled to achieve a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the ice machine 50.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present exemplary embodiment, the control system of the refrigerator may individually control the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131. Depending on a programmed operational mode of the refrigerator, both fans 121 and 131 may be “ON” (or operational) or “OFF” (or non-operational) at the same time or only one of them is “ON”. For example, when the refrigerator operates in an energy-saving mode, the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131 are controlled such that neither of them is “ON”. When the refrigerator operates in a rapid cooling mode, the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131 are controlled based on a detected temperature in the ice machine 50.

In this way, the control system of the refrigerator in accordance with the present exemplary embodiment can intelligently control the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131 to enhance the ice-making performance of the ice machine 50 and the power efficiency of the refrigerator.

Furthermore, the present exemplary embodiment may be configured such that the end 120 a of the cool air inlet duct 120 and the cool air suction fan 121 are respectively disposed above the end 130 a of the cool air outlet duct 130 and the cool air discharge fan 131. In this case, cool air drawn into the ice machine 50 is used to produce ice in an ice-making chamber 150 located in an upper portion of the ice machine 50. The cool air can also be discharged out of the ice machine 50 through the cool air outlet port 133 located in a lower portion of the ice machine 50.

As described above, the ice machine 50 includes the ice-making chamber 150, the cooled-air inlet port 123, the cooled-air outlet port 133, a cooled-air guide 140, and an ice bucket 170. But the configuration of an ice-machine according to the present disclosure is not limited to this.

The ice machine 50 includes an ice-making chamber 150. Cool air supplied from the freezer circulates in the ice-making chamber 150, causing water to freeze and thereby produce ice. Cool air is delivered to the ice-making chamber 150 from the cool air inlet port 123. Although it is not shown, an ice tray for containing water/ice may be installed in the ice-making chamber 150. After ice is produced in the ice-making chamber 150, a rotating unit rotates the ice tray so that ice contained therein falls down into the ice bucket 170. Although it is not illustrated in detail in the drawings, the ice bucket 170 is coupled to the dispenser (30 of FIG. 1). Responsive to a user request, ice can be transferred from the ice bucket 170 to the dispenser through a transfer assembly. Cool air can flow out of the ice-making chamber 150 through the cool air outlet port 133 and then enter the cool air outlet duct 130.

FIG. 4 shows the flow of cool air in the refrigerator after an ice machine is removed from a freezer in accordance with the exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 4, the ice machine 50 can be removed from the refrigerating space 111 of the refrigerator manually by a user for example. Alternatively, the ice machine 50 may be removed from the refrigerating space 111 using an automated procedure that can be controlled by a user. It will be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to any specific method of removing the ice machine 50 from the refrigerating space 111.

Furthermore, a sensor (not shown) that senses the presence of the ice machine 50 in the refrigerating space 111 may be installed adjacent to the ice machine 50 in the refrigerating space. The sensor may be a pressure sensor, an image sensor or any other suitable sensor that is well known in the art. Upon detecting that the ice machine 50 is removed from the refrigerating space 111, the sensor transmits a signal to the control system of the refrigerator.

After the ice machine 50 is removed from the refrigerating space 111, cool air generated from the evaporator 180 of the freezer 112 is drawn into the refrigerating space 111 through the cool air inlet duct 120. As such, cool air, supplied from the freezer 112 may be used to cool the refrigerating space 111 directly. In this manner, power efficiency and cooling performance of the refrigerator can be enhanced.

In some embodiments, upon removal of the ice machine 50, the cool air supply rate from the freezer 112 to the refrigerating space 111 can be automatically reduced from the rate before the removal. For example, to achieve this, the RPMs of the rotors (or the speeds) of the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131 may be controlled to decreased values.

More specifically, the control system of the refrigerator in accordance with the present exemplary embodiment determines the rate at which cool air is supplied from the freezer 112 into the refrigerating space 111 to maintain a desired temperature in the refrigerating space 111. For instance, in accordance with the present exemplary embodiment, after the ice machine 50 is removed from the refrigerating space 111, the control system of the refrigerator determines both the rate of cool air being supplied from the freezer 112 into the refrigerating space 111 (through the cool air inlet duct 120) and the rate of cool air being generated from the evaporator 119 installed in the refrigerating space 111. Further, the control system of the refrigerator determines both the rate of cool air being returned to the evaporator 119 of the refrigerating space 111 and the rate of cool air being returned to the evaporator 180 of the freezer 112 through the cool air outlet duct 130. Based on the determination, the RPMs of the cool air suction fan 121, the cool air discharge fan 131, the cool air suction fan 117 and/or the cool air discharge fan 118 may be individually controlled to achieve a reduced rate of supplying cool air from the freezer 112 to the refrigerating space 111 and yet still maintain the desired temperature in the refrigerating space 111. Alternatively, at least one of the cool air suction fan 121 and the cool air discharge fan 131 may be turned off, or at least one of the cool air inlet duct 120 and the cool air outlet duct 130 may be blocked by an interrupter or the like.

As such, in accordance with the present exemplary embodiment, even when the ice machine 50 is removed from the refrigerating space 111, cool air supplied from the freezer 112 can be used to maintain a desired temperature in the refrigerating space 111. Therefore, power efficiency of the refrigerator can be enhanced. Furthermore, after the ice machine 50 is removed from the refrigerating space 111, circulation of cool air in the refrigerating space 111 can become more efficient because not only the ducts installed in the refrigerating space 111 but also the cool air inlet duct 120 and the cool air outlet duct 130 are used for the circulation. Thereby, the temperature distribution in the refrigerating space 111 can become more uniform.

In accordance with the present exemplary embodiment, cool air circulation between the freezer 112 of the refrigerator and the ice machine 50 in the refrigerating space 111 includes: supplying cool air from the freezer 112 into the ice machine 50 installed in the refrigerating space 111; producing ice in the ice machine 50 using the supplied cool air; and then returning the cool air that has been used to produce ice from the ice machine 50 to the freezer 112 through the cool air outlet duct 130. Here, cool air is driven into the ice machine 50 via the cool air suction fan 121 installed between the end 120 a of the cool air inlet duct 120 and the ice machine 50. Furthermore, cool air is drawn from the ice machine 50 via the cool air discharge fan 131 installed between the end 130 a of the cool air outlet duct 130 and the ice machine 50. In this way, cool air circulation in the bottom-freezer style refrigerator can be controlled to enhance ice-making performance and power efficiency of the refrigerator.

Moreover, in accordance with the present exemplary embodiment, when the ice machine 50 is present in the refrigerating space 111, cool air is supplied from the freezer 112 into the ice machine 50 through the ice-inlet duct 120. When the ice machine 50 is removed from the refrigerating space 111, cool air is supplied from the freezer 112 into the refrigerating space 111 through the ice-inlet duct 120. As such, because cool air supplied from the freezer 112 can be used to cool the refrigerating space 111 when the ice machine 50 is not present the refrigerating space 111, power efficiency and cooling performance of the refrigerator can be further increased. In addition, the temperature distribution in the refrigerating space 111 can become more uniform.

As described above, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, after the ice machine is removed from the refrigerating space, cool air supplied from the freezer is used to maintain the refrigerating space at a desired temperature. Consequently, power efficiency and temperature distribution of the refrigerator can be improved.

While a cool air circulation structure of a refrigerator and a method for controlling the circulation structure in accordance with the invention have been shown and described with respect to the exemplary embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Although certain preferred embodiments and methods have been disclosed herein, it will be apparent from the foregoing disclosure to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications of such embodiments and methods may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended that the invention shall be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the rules and principles of applicable law. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator, comprising: a refrigerating space; a freezing space; an ice machine disposed in the refrigerating space and configured to make ice; an evaporator disposed in the freezing space and configured to produce cool air; a cool air inlet duct configured to supply cool air from the evaporator into the ice machine; and a cool air outlet duct configured to supply cool air from the ice machine to the freezing space.
 2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the ice machine is removably installed in the refrigerating space, and wherein after the ice machine is removed from the refrigerating space, cool air supplied from the cool air inlet duct is used to maintain a temperature in the refrigerating space.
 3. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the refrigerating space is disposed above the freezing space.
 4. The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: a first fan installed between an end of the cool air inlet duct and the ice machine; and a second fan installed between an end of the cool air outlet duct and the ice machine.
 5. The refrigerator of claim 1 further comprising: a control system configured to control a temperature in the refrigerating space and a temperature in the freezing space, wherein, after the ice machine is removed from the refrigerating space, the control system is configured to maintain the temperature in the refrigerating space by controlling a cool air supply rate from the freezing space to the refrigerating space through the cool air inlet duct.
 6. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the refrigerating space comprises: an evaporator configured to generate cool air; a third fan provided to drive cool air from the evaporator into the refrigerating space; and a fourth fan provided to drive cool air from the refrigerating space back to the evaporator.
 7. The refrigerator of claim 4, wherein the control system is configured to control, based on a detected temperature, a speed of at least one of a rotor of the first fan and a rotor of the second fan.
 8. The refrigerator of claim 1, further comprising: a sensor configured to sense a presence of the ice machine in the refrigerating space.
 9. A method for controlling circulation of cool air in a refrigerator, the method comprising: supplying, when an ice machine is present in a refrigerating space of the refrigerator, cool air from a freezing space of the refrigerator into the ice machine through a cool air inlet duct; and supplying, after the ice machine is removed from the refrigerating space, cool air from the freezing space into the refrigerating space through the cool air inlet duct.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein cool air is supplied from the freezing space into the ice machine or the refrigerating space via a first fan installed between an end of the cool air inlet duct and the ice machine.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: using a control system to control temperatures of the refrigerating space and the freezing space of the refrigerator, wherein, after the ice machine is removed from the refrigerating space, the control system determining a rate at which cool air is supplied from the freezing space into the refrigerating space through the cool air inlet duct to maintain a temperature in the refrigerating space.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein, based on a determined rate of supplying cool air from the freezing space into the refrigerating space, the control system controls an RPM of a rotor of a first fan installed between an end of the cool air inlet duct and the ice machine.
 13. A refrigerator comprising: a refrigerating space; a freezing space disposed below said refrigerating space; an ice machine disposed in the refrigerating space and configured to make ice; an evaporator disposed in the freezing space and configured to produce cool air; and a cool air delivery system configured to circulate cool air between the freezing space and the refrigerating space.
 14. The refrigerator of claim 13, wherein the cool air delivery system comprises: a cool air inlet duct configured to supply cool air from the evaporator into the ice machine; and a cool air outlet duct configured to supply cool air from the ice machine to the freezing space.
 15. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein the cool air delivery system comprises further comprising: a first fan installed between an end of the cool air inlet duct and the ice machine; and a second fan installed between an end of the cool air outlet duct and the ice machine.
 16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the ice machine is removably mounted in the refrigerating room, and wherein, responsive to detection that the ice machine is removed from the refrigerating room, speeds of said first fan and said second fan are adjusted to maintain a temperature in the refrigerating room.
 17. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the cool air delivery system comprises further comprising: a third fan configured to supply cool air from the evaporator to the refrigerating space; and a fourth fan configured to circulate cool air from the refrigerating room to the evaporator.
 18. The refrigerator of claim 16 further comprising a sensor configured to sense a presence of the ice machine. 